Coupling device for building structures



IIIIIIII G. w. ANDERSON Filed Jan. 12, 1949 JNVENTOR. eafgfe il? ndefsozz HTTOR/VEY Munn!!! 23 Feb. 6, 1951 Patented Feb. 6, 1951 COUPLING DEVICE FOR BUELDING STRUCTURES George W. Anderson, Port Washington, N. Y.

Application January 12, 1949, Serial No. 70,442

(Cl. 2li-4) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction and assembly of building structures, such as wall sections, and to means for coupling together the building structures.

The walls and other structures of prefabricated constructions are commonly manufactured `in sections which are complete and ready to assemble by the builder. In order to assure proper erection and assembly of such structures it is an object of the present invention to construct the sections with coupling means which will assure that the wall surfaces of abutting sections will be ush with each other, and also that the upper and lower edges of the sections will be correctly aligned when the coupling means are joined. Wall structures having a veneered or otherwise finished surface requiring no other nishing or covering may thereby be readily erected Without requiring exceptional skill on the part of the builder to obtain flush surfaces at the several joints in a wall.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide coupling means suitable for forcibly bringing and holding together structures and which are adapted for the ready demountability and reassembly of the structures whenever desired.7

Another object of the invention is to provide means for enabling the joining together of prefabricated building members in such a manner as to permit compensation for any dimensional irregularity which may be present in a series of i building members su'ch as are employed lin the erection of a wall.

Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detailed description of the same which consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The drawings show by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the principle of the invention and the best mode which has been contemplated for applying that principle.

Fig. l is an elevational View of joined wall sections employing the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2*--2 of Fig. 1 and illustrates the coupling means;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the coupling means illustrated in Fig. 2 taken on a plane at right angles thereto;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-'5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the relationship of the building members and of the coupling means before they are engaged.

In Fig. 1 there is illustrated a pair of prefabricated building structures or members IIJ and Il such as are used in the construction of a wall. Each building member comprises spaced panels l2 and I3 which may be made of plywood or of other panelV material. These panels are fastened by screws or by gluing to opposite sides of a frame comprising a sill and a header it, studs I5, it, Il and I8, a plurality of cats i?! between the studs, and bracing blocks such as are shown at 2i) and 2 l. The panels may be oth erwise constructed, although the present inven tion is well suited for the erection of prefabricated members of the kind described as well as other forms of building members.

In erecting wall sections it is important that the sections be firmly connected together and in proper alignment, and the means for accomplishing this must constitute a construction which can be easily manipulated and which will require the least amount of adjustment by the builder. The coupling means of the present invention includes a bolt or spindle 22 having a thread 23 at one end and a tongue 26 projecting from its other end. The broad fiat surfaces of the tongue are parallel and equally spaced from the axis of the spindle. A hole 25 is located in the tongue on the axis of the spindle. The threaded end of the spindle 2| is engaged by a T-nut 26 which is permanently seated in a block 2l. The block 2l is securely fastened to the stud l5 and a hole is drilled through the block and the stud to accommodate the shank of the spindle 22, as more clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The several holes which receive the spindles are of such size as to snugly engage the spindles. The holes are normal to the exposed surface of the edge of the building structure and are accurately located with respect to the inside or finished surface and the height of the building section by a jig. Before bringing two building sections together the spindle may be translated longitudinally of its axis by rotating the spindle to extend the tongue 24 beyond the exposed surface of the stud l5 the distance desired.

The complementary end of an adjoining building member carries a block 28 which/is fastened to the stud I8. A block 28 is located opposite each block 2. A slot 29 of sufficient width and depth to accommodate the tongue 24 is cut vthrough the block 28 and the stud I8 in a plane parallel to the broad faces of the building members. The slot is accurately located on the axis of the spindle 22 by a jig.

The block 28 is drilled to provide a hole 30 in which a metallic bushing 3l is mounted. The

hole 28 and the bushing 3l are so located that their axis will intersect the axis of the spindle 22 when the building members are correctly aligned with respect to each other. The bushing 3l serves as a bearing for centering and guiding a lag bolt or a set screw 32. The only opening in the plane face of a panel consists of a single hole 33 for each coupling means through which the screw is inserted. By locating the axis of the spindle, the slot 29 and the bushing 3l with respect to each other and to the edges of the building structures in the mill in which the structures are fabricated, correct alignment of the assembled sections will be assured Without necessitating particular care on the part of the erector.

For assembling and adjusting the coupling means the spindle is screwed into the nut 26 to the extent required to locate the axis of the hole 25 in the tongue 24 eccentric to the axis of the screw 32, as shown in Fig. 6. The two building members are then brought edge to edge with the tongue 2li ext-ending into the slot 29. The screw is then inserted into the bushing and caused to engage the hole 25 in the tongue. By rotating the screw the spindle 22 is drawn towards the screw 32 as the tapered end of the screw advances through the hole 25 in the tongue. The building members can thereby be powerfully pressed together.

Because of the tapered end of the screw 32, a considerable amount of movement of the spindle may be taken up, but it will be understood that the hole 25 and tongue 2 may be adjustably located with respect to the axis of the screw 32 by turning the spindle in the nut 25 before the building members are brought together.

The usual manufacturing tolerances allowed in the manufacture of large building sections sometimes results in varying the over-all dimensional specifications for a completed wall. In order to compensate for any irregularity which may appear during the construction of a wall, the adjoining edges of sections are covered with a strip of compressible material 34, such as a water-proof paper gasket which may be buttered with an elastic-type mastic. A gasket of such material will provide suiiicient compressibility to enable proper correction,

A Wall constructed in accordance with the invention is not subject to the production of squeaks originating at the contacting edges of assembled sect-ions when the wall is subjected to varying wind pressure. This is because of the pressure of the gaskets and the powerful clamping forces which can be applied by the coupling devices.

What is claimed is:

l. Coupling means for fastening two members together, said coupling means comprising a spindle threaded at one end and a tongue projecting axially from its other end, the threaded end of the spindle engaging a nut non-rotatably mounted in one of the members to be fastened together and the tongue extending into a slot in the other of said members, said tongue having an opening therein located on the axis of said spindle, said slotted member having a hole therein, said last-named hole being located on an axis normal to the plane of said slot and intersecting the axis of said spindle, and a screw member adapted for translation in said lastnamed hole and for engaging the edge of the opening in said tongue to draw said two members together when the screw is turned.

2. In a building construction, a pair of prefabricated building sections having front surfaces for forming a continuous wall surface and edge members providing transverse edge surfaces adapted to be butted together, coupling means for drawing said edge surfaces into abutting relationship, said coupling means comprising a connecting member in the form` of a cylindrical spindle threaded at one end and having a spatulalike tongue extending axially from its other end, a nut mounted in one of said sections for engaging the threaded end of said spindle, said nut being xedly held in said section and axially aligned with a hole which extends from the edge surface of the edge member of said section to said nut for receiving the shank of said spindle, the edge member of the second section having a slot for receiving said tongue, said slot being aligned with said hole and nut when the front surfaces of said sections are Hush with one another, said second section having a hole extending from its front surface to said slot and located with its axis at right angles to and in the plane of the axis of said first-named hole, a smooth bore bushing mounted in said lastnamed hole, a tapered screw slidably mounted in said bushing, the thread of said tapered screw being adapted to engage the edge of an opening through said tongue to exert force on said tongue in a direction axially of said spindle to draw said sections into abutting relationship when said screw is rotated, the axial position of said tongue for engagement by said screw being initially adjustable by rotating said spindle in said nut when the coupling means are assembled to said sections and prior to the entry of said tongue into said slot.

GEORGE W. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 721,292 Forster Feb. 24, 1903 2,142,388 Wallace Jan. 3, 1939 2,165,336 Brogdenl July 11', 1939 2,242,537 Moore May 20, 1941 2,278,331 Meyercord Mar. 31, 1942 

